Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

Signing is Daniel’s preferred method of communication (along with yelling ), though he does use a few sounds that we can interpret as words.  I thought it would be fun to share a little bit about our signing journey.

Our goal is for Daniel to learn up to three signs each week.  That seems like a big goal, but if you think about kids learning language, it’s actually pretty small.  I know this is pretty obvious, but I’m gonna say it anyway: We have to know the signs before we can teach him.  I did take a semester of ASL in my undergrad days, but that was darn near close to a million years ago.  My memory sure isn’t what it used to be!

When I want to learn a new sign (or three or four), I go to the dictionary at Baby Sign Language.  The kids love to watch Signing Time movies as well – and Daniel is starting to enjoy them more – but I don’t usually have time to sit through an entire episode.  So I look up what I need in the BSL dictionary, practice it a couple of times, and then try to use it as much with Daniel as I possibly can.  The other kids catch on to this really fast, and they looooove helping him with new words.  Obviously, we try to use signs that are common in everyday life.  Not much use for “ocean” at this point, but “help” and “again” are right up at the top of the list.

Daniel is just starting to imitate what we do, so he is learning the signs much faster than when we started over a year ago.  Sometimes he’ll imitate the sign completely on his own.  Sometimes I have to manipulate his hands for him.  His signs can be somewhat sloppy, which is much the same as a child saying “wa-wa” for water or “eph-a-lant” for elephant.  It’s all part of the learning process – and it is so much fun to watch!

Daniel’s current signs are (I have linked to the BSL dictionary if you want to see the sign for each word):

• eat/food
• more
• drink
• cow
• dad
• book
• cracker
• car
• shoe(s)
• fish
• dog
• all done

These signs are emerging (meaning he’s starting to use them, but not consistently):

• help
• again
• thank you
• water
• chicken

I would love for him to learn and use these signs:

• please
• sorry
• water
• milk
• MOMMY!!!!

We challenge all of you who are close to us to learn along with us and use Daniel’s signs when you interact with him.  He LOVES when people speak his language, and it’s a great way to generalize his communication skills to situations outside our home and family life.  I guarantee you will enjoy every second of his attempts to communicate with you!!

Valentine’s Tea and Baby Steps

Rachel was sooooo excited for her first Valentine’s Tea at school.  (No, they don’t serve tea.  The kids get a cookie and drink while they’re learning about etiquette and manners.)  But she was a tiny bit concerned about wearing her “Sunday best” to school.  It might get dirty!  So I told her I’d make her a skirt.  Gosh, she’s cute!

 

And this little dude is taking some steps!!  REALLY!!  He took five last night – to get to his reward of a chocolate chip.  Here’s a shot of a couple steps this morning.

I Have a Problem

Yes, it’s confession time here on the ol’ blog.  I have a problem.  It’s not a HUGE problem, and it doesn’t happen very often.  But, it is a problem.

Big breath.

I leave stuff on the car and then drive away.

There.  I said it.  Now I can sleep at night.

It’s not big stuff.  I’ve never driven away with a child on my car – thankfully!  Nor have I ever driven away with a bag of groceries waiting to spill its contents at the first jolt.  No, it’s other stuff. 

Like the phone.  That one happened about five years ago.  I set the phone on the back bumper of our van while I was out working in the front yard.  Totally forgot about it.  Drove off somewhere later in the day, and still didn’t even remember it.  It wasn’t until that evening, when we were trying to find the phone, that it dawned on me.  Yeah.  I drove off with a phone on my bumper.  I thought surely it would have fallen off at the end of the driveway.  I retraced my path a time or two looking for it.  We never did find that phone.  (I have always wondered what someone would think if they were behind me in traffic and saw a phone sitting on my bumper!)

Most recently (Saturday night), it was the snow scraper.  I went out to get groceries around 8:30 p.m., only to find the Suburban covered in snow and two or three inches on the ground.  I got the scraper out to take care of the windows, which I did, and then decided to scrape the driveway.  So I set the scraper on the hood, thinking I would grab it when I hopped in the Suburban.  It wasn’t until I was several blocks from home that I remembered I had not grabbed the scraper on my way in.  It was on the hood, for pete’s sake!!  You would think I would have seen it!  And now, the scraper has gone the way of all the earth.  And I got an eye roll and the cutest smile from Jared when I disclosed what happened on the way to church yesterday.  His response: “You have a problem.”

Yes indeed.  I have a problem.

Building a House: A Few Pictures

We finally got the rest of the kitchen cabinetry installed yesterday.  The cabinet for the range hood was the last thing to go in.  It had to be remade because the first attempt wasn’t quite right.  Thus, the reason for the month-long delay.  So glad to have it done!  Oh, and I happen to really like it.  A lot!

There is a shelf up there (the slightly lighter strip about 1/3 of the way up) that is probably 6-8” deep.  I have a few ideas for some decorative potential.  Some day when I can find all my stuff and I have the time and the money to get everything looking cute…oh wait, that’ll be, like NEVER!! 

We also got the fireplace mantel yesterday.  Love it, love it, love it!!  (Please ignore all the junk on the shelves.  They have become the dumping area because we mostly use the front door for now.  A convenient place to drop everything.  I can’t wait until the garage gets cleared out!!!)  The wood is the exact same as what is in the kitchen picture above.  (Amazing how the lighting changes everything!)

The shelf on top is around 15” deep!  I can have lots of fun with that…once I get around to it.  Someday!

On to the master bathroom.  Please be advised that there is nothing cutesy whatsoever in there yet.  I’m STILL filling nail holes and caulking and emptying boxes…and we’re still getting shelving in closets…all while trying to stay on top of the messes the kids make.  Decorating will have to wait!  (And I am taking suggestions, so feel free to comment!)

We love our bathroom!  I was a little hesitant about the plan, but I think it turned out great.  The shower is loved by all!  We love the cultured granite from Immaculate Cultured Marble and Granite.  They did a fabulous job!

This is looking in from the doorway.  The toilet is between that short wall and the wall where the window is.  Nice and secluded!

 

A view from the opposite end, with the lovely UN-jetted soaker tub (which will probably get used two or three times a year).

 

And the vanity area.  I was standing in the tub to get these pictures.  Had to chop it into two segments because I couldn’t get any further away.  Notice the lack of a permanent mirror.  Yet another project that still needs to be taken care of!  (Jared was unshaven for the first week we lived here because we couldn’t find that small mirror anywhere.  We’re all glad to have it!)

 

The other bathrooms have the same sinks, cabinetry and tile and fixtures, so I won’t share any pictures.  You get the gist, though, I’m sure.

We’ve finished the shelving in the cold storage under the front porch, and we hope to have the shelving in the main storage room finished by the end of this week.  Which means…we could actually be parking in the garage in the very near future!!!  Can I get a “hallelujah” and an “amen!”  Hopefully by the end of tax season we can have the shelving for the rest of the closets finished.  That might be a tad bit optimistic, though, considering how much there is to do still and the fact that Jared will be spending 75+ hours at work every week for the next 10 weeks.  We shall see.

We are just so happy to be here and finished moving (mostly)!  There is still so much to do, but now it can wait as long as I feel like making it wait.

Show Me a Sign

Daniel’s signing vocabulary has been expanding at a fairly decent rate lately.  It is so cute to see his tiny hands forming the signs and to see the learning process he goes through.

He wakes up everyday and greets me with a voracious “eat” and signs it almost constantly throughout the day!  If it has anything to do with food, he is proficient.  “More,” “drink,” and “cracker” are his other three favorites.

True to form, he signed “Dad” first and has yet to produce “Mom”…but he’s getting close!  (All of our kids said Dad before Mom.  Traitors.)

Here he produces several signs on command, so watch closely.  His sign for “Dad” and “cow” are pretty similar.  (I have no commentary on that.)  His sign for “dog” is a little off.  He’s supposed to pat his leg, but pats his chest instead.

Daniel showing off a few signs

 

And in this one he does “car” – his most recent one.  This one is my favorite.  He’s also really close to getting “help.”  Listen to his fun noise.  It always makes us laugh!

Signing “car”

 

We love this boy so so so much!!  He is pure joy contained in a 21-pound adorable little body!

My Inner Organizing Geek

It’s time for me (read: US!!!) to get organized.  We have lived such a chaotic life for so long that I fear I’m getting too comfortable with it.  The piles of boxes and heaps of who-knows-what hardly even cause me to bat an eye anymore.  AAHGHGHGH!!!  That scares me just a tiny bit!

My inner organizing geek (which is huge, but timid) drools over the plethora of organization pictures and posts on Pinterest.  Seriously, who can resist a pantry that looks like this…

 

…or a closet like this…

…or this mudroom?

I think I just died a little!  The neatness.  The containment.  The order.  Sigh.

Frankly, I’d be happy if my kids would always put their shoes in the same place, hang up their coats, and put things back where they belong!!!

In the past I have made fun scrapbook-type calendars – which we have loved – to help keep track of our goings on.  (OK, really what they did was give me a really cute way to feel a sense of control.)  The only problem was that they didn’t give me much room for writing and I couldn’t really take them anywhere.  I need space to write lists and plan menus and make notes.  So, in my feeble attempt at finding the pathway of organization, I created a calendar/planner thingy that is the perfect size to carry in my purse.

 

It has a monthly calendar…

…and a weekly planner.

This, my friends, is accountability!  If there is nothing written in the dinner box, there’s a big chance that there will be nothing to eat when it’s starvation time around here.  (I just printed this today.  My inner Monk couldn’t NOT print the weeks that have already passed, nor could it NOT write in the dates from those weeks.  It IS, however, OK with not filling in what we ate for dinner those days!)

The only thing this baby needs is a pocket for stuff and a way to quickly find the month-at-a-glance calendars.  Some day I might find a solution.  But until then, I know what’s for dinner tonight, and that I have two commitments this coming Friday!  Baby steps, friends.  Baby steps.

(I believe in giving credit where credit is due.  I adapted these calendars and these planner pages for my book.  Thanks to Katies Wish for the digital paper that I altered for my cover.)

Building a House: Lessons Learned

A few things that I learned as we built our house.  (Editor’s note: these are not necessarily the views of my husband, my children, or anyone else associated with me.)

1. Don’t believe deadlines/time estimates.  They’re only occasionally accurate.

2. Set a realistic limit on how much work you will do yourself.  Then pay the money to let someone else do the rest faster (and hopefully better).

3. Be prepared to be a nuisance.  It’s the only way things get done.

4. Get estimates in writing…before anything gets started.

5. Get a finish-by date in writing.

6. Inspect all the work before you pay any subs.  Don’t assume that the job is completed just because they say it is.

7. Go over everything several times with every sub.  Just because they have it on their order doesn’t mean they’ll actually LOOK at the order.

8. If you choose to paint, don’t waste time washing out rollers.  Just buy a bunch and throw them away.  Or invest in a good paint sprayer.

9. Plan on the rules being changed several times during the process.

10. If you choose to do any work yourself, assume it will take you at least three times longer than what you think it should take.

11. Mark where all your lights, outlets and light switches are on the floor before the sheetrockers come.  They’re bound to bury a few.

12. Vacuum the floors and all the electrical boxes before you paint.  It’s a huge pain in the neck to pick up bits of insulation and garbage when you roll over a box or accidentally hit the floor.  Actually, cleaning up several times along the way is an awesome idea.

13. Make decisions on light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, cabinets, countertops and flooring during the slow part of the process (like when the foundation is curing, or when the framing is happening).  Then you won’t have to put everything on hold while they’re being ordered (and you’ll have time to change your mind a few dozen times).

14. Check your local building code a few thousand times.  Make sure your subs are current on the code as well.

15. Expect to be forced into a few ridiculous things because of the building code.

16. Get plenty of dirt built up after backfilling the foundation.  Then get the raingutters up as quick as you can.

17. Get a good thermostat.  We are LOVING our Nest 2.0, even though it was pricey.

18. Take pictures along the way.  It’s fun to see the progress, and once the sheetrock goes up, you’ll have a rough (or better-than-rough) idea of where things are.

19. Get all the painting done before the carpet comes.  (That was our goal, but the carpet guys got to work about 3 days earlier than they were supposed to.  Makes for a big pain-in-the-neck when you need to finish the painting.)

20. Remember that, when all is said and done, you will absolutely LOVE your home and you will be so thankful to be there…even if there is so much work left to do!

Tales of a Frigid January

I’m pretty sure this morning’s –22 degrees broke the cold record for the month.  I guess that makes the –12 of a couple of weeks ago seem pretty warm. 

Spring has never looked so enticing!!    I’m sure those icicles are only going to get bigger as we shiver through the next several weeks.

We’ve been working on our sign language lately.  Rachel really loves to use “no”…

…but I’m not sure we can take that big smile seriously!

Daniel has started to sign “book” – though he does the sign for “again” instead.  I’m not sure how he got them mixed up.  But we know what it means, and he obviously does too, so we’re working on fixing that one.  He started nursery yesterday.  There is a lady in our Ward who is in charge of being his assistant.  So he gets one-on-one attention while he’s in there.  I’m so glad our Primary President was the one to take the initiative on that.  She recognized that we might have a need there and came to me for the scoop.  I feel much better about sending him when someone is directly responsible for only him.  Though, I’m still super worried about the germs.  We’ll see how these first few weeks go.

How could you not love this face?!?!

Or this one??!?  (This is what he does when anyone talks about animals.  He’s barking like a dog, but without much sound.)

This is the month of hardly any school (at least it feels like it) for our kids.  They started back on the 3rd.  Rachel has today off, and they all have tomorrow off, for parent teacher conferences.  Next Monday is MLK day, so there won’t be school.  And the following Friday will be a no school day as well!  Good grief!  Sometimes I wonder why they even have school at all during January!!

We’re going to cross our fingers for a warmer-than-usual February and try to stay warm in the meantime!

2012 In Review

It was quite an eventful year for us.  It’s nice to have some proof that we did more than just build our house!

Daniel: Turned 1, heart healthy (!!), surgery for tubes and to open his tear ducts, normal hearing (!!!), sprouted at least a dozen teeth, got his first haircut, learned to crawl, learned to cruise, learned to stand unassisted, learned to blow kisses and play Peek-a-boo, learned a few signs…oh, and won the popularity contest everywhere he went.

Caleb: Turned 4, broke his nose, had surgery to fix his nose and place ear tubes, crammed a broken plastic pipe into the back of his mouth, got lots of scrapes and bruises, fell off his chair at every meal, cut his hair and Daniel’s too, cut his finger open with a box cutter, started preschool, perfected every ninja move in the book.

Rachel: Learned to read, turned 5, graduated from Preschool, lost her first two teeth (in the same week), started Kindergarten.

Josh: Ran the Wellsville Mile, earned his Bear in Cub Scouts, turned 10, participated in his first Pinewood Derby, started 5th grade.

Emily: Participated in the Young Writers’ Fest, went to Girls’ Camp and won the “Giggler” award, started 7th grade, earned her Faith in God award, turned 12, started Young Women, gave her first Sacrament Meeting talk, spent lots of hours babysitting, got her first 4.0.

Heather: Went to Girls’ Camp, said good-bye to the most amazing Young Women in the world, spent countless hours painting, made lots of meals, did lots of laundry, put lots of miles on the Suburban, and is in the process of filling 2 million finish nail holes (and we won’t mention anything about getting her first ticket).

Jared: Started the process to become a Certified Valuation Analyst, was appointed to the board of directors for the Sunshine Terrace Foundation, was released from the Bishopric, did 99% of the finish electrical work in our new house, and did a lot of sub-contractor babysitting.

Building a House: Kitchen Reveal

We FINALLY got the OK to move in – and actually sleep in the house - on New Years’ Eve!!  It was a crazy day, but we’re all so glad to be here.

Here are pictures of my kitchen.  I absolutely LOVE it!!  Our cabinet guy did a fabulous job.  And I think we did a pretty darn good job on the design too.  It’s big enough that it feels open, but not so big that I’ll wear myself out trying to cook.

The area above the stove is not quite done yet.  Still waiting for the cabinet that the range hood goes in and then the rest of the crown molding can go up.

My favorite part?  Hmm…that’s a hard one.  I love the garbage drawer, I love the way it looks, I love the open feeling, and I love that it’s mine!!